2022 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

My subaru outback windshield seems to use low quality glass or have poor windshield mount/frame design. Since purchasing the car new in April 2022, I have had 3 significantly cracked windshields; all of which propagated immediately after getting hit by a pebble mid-drive (not giving any opportunity to fix the chip). I am filing this complaint because I don’t think it should be standard for a windshield to propagate a crack so easily and consistently every time it gets chipped (this seems statistically improbable compared to other cars) - and it’s a legitimate hazard to visibility if I don’t have ample opportunity to get the chip repaired to prevent it from propagating to a crack. Essentially I’m saying that it’s almost guaranteed that getting a chip will result in a foot long crack during the same drive (I say almost because I have been able to repair a chip before it was too late once). Furthermore, the crack will often double in size over night (presumably due to temperature changes) - which leads me to speculate that the windshield glass accumulated internal stresses during install due to poor design. I have only replaced my windshield through official Subaru dealerships with their recommended glass vendor. I’ve attached two photos from my most recent cracked windshield; the first is the crack that propagated immediately after the pebble hit while driving, and the second is after leaving the car overnight stationary. Also note that this is usually at highway speeds; and i have effectively had 1.5 broken windshields per year of driving the car. The first broken windshield happened at ~200 miles driven on the brand new car (5 days in).

Windshield cracked without any external impact. There was no crack when we parked the car in the evening, but the next morning there was a crack. There was no impact or visible reason that this should have happened.

Merging off the interstate at a speed of 75mph onto an off ramp at 7pm with 4 adults in the car and when I started braking the windshield cracked from the passages side a pillar in towards the center of the window approximately 7 inches. There were no other vehicles around us and no signs of a chip or previous damage that could have caused the break in the glass.The crack is halfway up/down the windshield and runs horizontal.

My EyeSight device stopped working correctly when I had the interior cleaned and the front windshield was spray cleaned. "Obstacle Detected" warnings started popping up and slowing down the car. Per the dealership, this was caused by the backsplash from the cleaner and now the entire device has to be replaced at a cost of $3300. Subaru later offered to replace it for $1800. I wish I was told to only spray the cleaner on a cloth or this could happen. Now I have to replace it or it could suddenly stop the car on the highway.

I came out this morning and I have a crack in my windshield that goes from the bottom of the glass up and over to towards the driver side. There does not appear to be any visible signs of impact that caused this crack.

1. The Subaru Outback OEM windshield has cracked and had to be replaced 3 times, so we are currently on our 4th windshield in just 2 years. The car has about 50k miles on it. 2. It is difficult to see through a broken windshield and puts us and others in danger. 3. Yes, the dealer has admitted that Subaru Outback windshields crack frequently and nothing has been done about it. 4. The manufacturer has ignored the issue. 5. No warnings that the windshield would break this frequently.

The windshield cracked from bottom of passenger side to the center of glass for no reasons, while the car was fully stopped, without any external impact. There were no harms caused to passengers, but it is concerning because the windshield could crack anytime without external impact. This didn't get recognized by dealership as a defect, they claim it was due to external impact. Yes, dealership has inspected the vehicle. No warning lamps or messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

Was just driving when I noticed my car was sounding louder than usual. Then when I stared it after running some errands it sounds like a bad engine nock. So I took it in for an oil change and they told me it was a cracked exhaust manifold. Also told me it fine to drive and shouldn’t cause further problems. Then I started to smell heavy exhaust smells inside the cab of the car. Now I have to drive it with windows down or risk passing out or dying

After doing grocery shopping, I returned to the vehicle, loaded my purchases, and upon getting into the driver's seat, noticed a large "Y" shaped crack in the windshield. The crack wasn't there when I arrived at the store. I've owned the vehicle less than a week, bought it used with less than 14K miles on it.

I live in New Jersey, I am leasing this vehicle and I have 9 more months to go for the 3 year lease to be over. I am planning to purchase the vehicle after the 3 years. On [XXX] my fiancé and I drove from New Jersey to Ohio and stood at my boyfriend's grandparent's home for 4 days. While being there we had not used the car for 2 days and it was parked at the family members drive way be we were using the grandfather's vehicle since he was showing us around. On [XXX], we were planning to go out and get some ice cream. As we walk to our car the windshield is cracked from the corner of the passenger side to almost the driver's side. We were not sure what to do, we call Subaru and the nearest Subaru was 1 1/2 away from where we were. We decided to go back home with the cracked glass and take it to a nearby dealer 9 hours away. We stood in a hotel half of the way and we didn't drive over 55 miles per hour because we were afraid to go any faster with a cracked windshield. We took our car dealer here in NJ on August 7th, they took at the vehicle, took pictures and they told us, they would probably get approval to replace it under warranty but that it would need approval. They informed us that the vehicle did not have any signs of being in an accidents or that the crack did not show any signs of the windshield being hit to by anything to cause the crack. As of now, August 19, 2024 we are still waiting for approval. I need my vehicle repaired by September, since I work as an elementary teacher. I also feel, this incidence should be placed under a recall for this vehicle. It is very dangerous and could have caused major injury or even death to ourselves. Based on research I have done this incidence has happen to many people owning the Subaru Outback. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)